This invention relates to bicylces, and, more particularly, to an improved front fork for mounting the front wheel of a bicycle to the bicycle frame.
The front fork of bicycles generally comprises a fork tube adapted to mount to the bicycle frame and support the handlebars, and a pair of spaced legs connected to the fork tube which straddle the front bicycle wheel and mount to its axle. One type of front fork includes tapered legs which decrease in cross section from the upper end to the lower end. The upper end of each tapered front fork leg is welded to a plate or fork crown which supports the fork tube, and their lower ends are usually flattened and then slotted to receive the front wheel axle, or forged fork stays are welded thereto for attachment to the front wheel axle.
One problem with forks having tapered legs is that the tapering is accomplished by a swaging operation which substantially increases the hardness and brittleness of the fork legs. The brittleness problem may be alleviated to some degree by tempering the fork legs, but this adds to the cost of the front fork.
A tubular front fork design has been proposed in the prior art as an alternative to the tapered leg front forks for heavy duty applications such as cruiser style bicycles or industrial three wheel vehicles. This front fork comprises a cylindrical fork tube connected to a pair of spaced fork legs each having a tubular shape with a constant, substantially circular cross section. The fork legs are welded or brazed directly to the fork tube which provides a strong connection therebetween. Fork stays are then welded to the lower end of each of the fork legs for mounting to the front wheel axle.
Although the tubular front fork described above is stronger than front forks having tapered legs, other problems are created. The front and rear straps or braces which support the front fender of the bicycle include holes at their terminal ends which slide over the front wheel axle against the front fork legs. When assembled, the fender braces are disposed at an acute angle with respect to the fork legs. The constant cross section fork legs of the tubular front fork design interfere with the rear fender brace preventing it from sliding over the front wheel axle against the fork stay welded to the fork legs. This presents a problem in mounting the front fender to the wheel. In addition, the tubular legs are not as attractive as the tapered legs of other fork designs, such as described above, which detracts from the overall appearance of the bicycle.